


Paints

by mystrangedarkson



Series: Sanders Sides Ficlets [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, But i made it better, M/M, Painting, basically this whole thing hurt to even write, virgil is angsty and hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-03-07 13:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13436241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystrangedarkson/pseuds/mystrangedarkson
Summary: Virgil has a secret hobby. Roman finds out.





	1. Paints

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt from thegirlthatdoesntofficiallyexist- "in need of some grade A angst. Maybe to help him express feelings Virgil paints and the others discover some of his works and they’re really sad or something. I don’t know haha just go where you want :)”

Each side has their own way of unwinding when they are overwhelmed. Patton bakes, Roman takes absurdly long showers while blasting show tunes and Disney songs, Logan drinks tea and reads his Sherlock Holmes anthology, and Virgil paints.

Virgil takes great care to make sure that no one knows he paints- he’s sure that they’d make fun of him, and besides, he’s not any good at it. The others assume that he listens to 'his PG-13 music', and when it comes up, he just shrugs noncommittally. 

Virgil was not okay. The panic just would not go away, no matter what breathing or grounding exercise he tries. He knew Thomas was worse off for it, and that made it even worse. He quietly opened the hidden door behind his Nightmare Before Christmas posters and entered the studio he created in his room when he first started painting. There weren’t many paintings on the walls- he usually destroyed the paintings when they were finished, since they just reminded him of the horrible feelings that inspired them. There were, however, three paintings on the wall directly across from the door, so that they are the first thing Virgil sees whenever he enters the studio. A landscape painting inspired by Roman’s tales of his adventures in his kingdom, a night sky with perfect constellations and the Milky Way, and a portrait (from memory) of Patton in his cat onesie.

Tonight, however, was not the time for sentimentality. Tonight, Virgil needed to explode, so the painting was abstract. His brush strokes were almost violent, the colors dark and angry. He was so caught up in releasing his fears and panic onto the canvas, he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him.

“What do you have there, Vincent Van Woe?”

Virgil jumped, spilling paint all over himself, the floor, and the canvas.

“W-what are you doing here, Roman? How are you here?”

“Patton started baking, because we haven’t seen you in a while. Also, a secret door doesn’t really work if you leave it open, Sadro Botticelli.”

“Enough with the artist crap. Just… go away. We both know you guys don’t really want me around, you just don’t want Thomas to lose it again. Now get out of here before you start freaking out and making everything even worse than it already is.”

“Vir-”

“GET. OUT. Walk away, Princey, and pretend you never saw this. It’s what you do best when it involves me.”

When Roman left, Virgil destroyed the ruined painting as well as the three on the wall. He walked out of the studio and willed it out of existence.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My hand slipped, here's a happy ending. I swear I didn't mean to make it moxiety. I just can't help myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I wrote Paints, I thought about writing a second chapter, a happy ending, but the prompt was for angst, and I moved on to more projects.   
> Occasionally, I go back and reread what I've already posted, looking for mistakes etc. I was doing this a couple of days ago, and this just sorta happened in my head, so I wrote it down.

Virgil couldn't believe his sacred space was gone. A hundred thoughts chased each other around his mind, all coming to a single conclusion: he could never paint again. His space was ruined, thanks to Roman.  _ Why did he have to come in? Why did I forget to close the goddamn door? _ His lamentation was interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Can I come in, kiddo? I made your favorite brownies- the one with the mint chocolate chips in them!" Virgil resisted the urge to hiss and tell him to leave, because it was  _ Patton _ . Good, kind, funny Patton who would never hurt him. And he really loved those brownies.

"Sure, Pat." Virgil couldn't help but smile a little bit when he walked in with a huge smile on his face and a frankly absurd amount of brownies. He took one and started picking at it as Patton sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"Not really. Not right now. This is an enormous amount of brownies. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I just felt like making something eggs-cellent for you- I was hoping to bake your day!"

"Ugh Pat that was so bad," Virgil chuckled, "but seriously, it's me. Please talk to me?" Patton sighed, the smile melting from his face.

"You're right. It's just… you could have told me, you know? I wouldn't have told the others if you didn't want me to."

"I know, and I tried. I painted something for you, and I kept almost showing it to you, but I just… couldn't."

"Aww, kiddo, you made something for me? Can I see it?"

"I, uh, kind of destroyed it."

"What happened?"

"The entire painting thing was stupid of me. I didn't realize how stupid it was until Roman found it and I saw it through his eyes. So I destroyed it all, so no one else would see it."

"Oh, Virge, it wasn't stupid at all. When Roman left your room, he came into the kitchen looking bluer than Logan's tie because he scared you and made you 'ruin one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen'. He talked about the paintings on the wall; Logan smiled like he'd been given  a Costco-sized tub of Crofter's when Roman told him about the painting with the stars. Did you really paint me, V?"

"I, uh, yeah. I did. I usually only painted when I was Not Okay (I Promise), and having you around helps calm me down. So I painted you on a good day, so you'd be there with me in some way. It's dumb and weird, I'm sorry."

"Nope. You don't get to apologize for that. That's the cutest, sweetest thing I've ever heard!!"

"Y-yeah? It's okay? Do you think… that is, would it be weird if… could I maybe… paint you again? But, like, actually you, not from memory?" Virgil might have actually gone partially deaf from Patton's squeal of delight.

"Oh my goodness I'd love that!"

"R- really?"

"Absolutely, kiddo! Let me know when you're in a  _ frame _ of mind to do it, and I'll  _ Van Gogh _ get my onesie on and sit for you!"

"Technically, it's pronounced 'goff', not 'go', but that was so adorable, I can't be even a little bit cynical about it."

"Aww Virge you're so sweet!"

"It's nothing, really. Just being honest. Thank you, Pat, for all of this. For the brownies, and for listening and being so sweet and understanding. This, uh, this is probably a bad time to say this, but since we're doing the whole honest feelings conversation thing… I love you, Patton. You don't have to say anything, you probably don't feel the same way, I just… wanted you to know." Virgil looked down and started fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie. His heart stopped when Patton gently tilted his head back up and made eye contact. He'd never seen anything as beautiful as Patton was in that moment, with his heart in his eyes.

"My sweet and sour misunderstood shadowling. You are so smart, but also so dumb sometimes. I've been in love with you for so long now. Why else would I make these brownies? You are the only one of us who can stand mint chocolate anything. I love you so much, Virgil. Can I kiss you?"

Virgil nodded, unable to speak. They would kiss thousands of times over the following years, but that first kiss would always be Virgil's favorite.


End file.
